My buddy Ken Thomas wrote about intelligence and wisdom in a recent post, pondering which one is acquired versus which one is inherent. It’s a good question, as is the question of which is more valuable to have, intelligence or wisdom?
I’ll add more to what Ken wrote by asking about a third type of wisdom, known as “street smarts.” Street smarts is wisdom and intelligence combined: applying the wisdom of an environment with the intelligence to figure it out. Situational awareness, really.
Early in our relationship, Kelly and I took a vacation to the mountains of Asheville. Domestic terrorist Eric Rudolph was still loose somewhere in the woods and I joked to the tourist-booth lady about the odds that I might find him.
The old lady chuckled at the thought. “You wouldn’t last a minute out there,” she scoffed without looking up.
Putting aside the absurdity of a tourist greeter who didn’t like strangers, I knew she was wrong. If one has street smarts – if one is resourceful no matter what situation they’re in – the odds that one can adapt to new environments goes way up. It doesn’t matter if there are no actual streets, the concept is the same.
In that regard, the lady behind the counter is at a disadvantage. She probably spent her whole life in the mountains and would be like a deer in the headlights in the big city. While she might know her way around the woods, I’d be willing to bet she doesn’t have street smarts.
It goes the other way, too. New Yorkers think they’re on top of the world. Indeed, there is so much in Manhattan that they want for nothing. While this might seem like a good thing at first, put most New Yorkers outside of the City and they’ll feel lost, uncomfortable. Maybe bored. They’re not used to finding their own way. For them, there’s the City and then there’s everywhere else.
Take them out of New York and they’re fish out of water.
I know I’m not the sharpest tool in the shed. I’ve done my share of dumb things and I’m a lazy intellectual at best. Still, one of my biggest educations in life has been how to deal with people from all walks of life. As a sailor I’ve walked down some mean streets and kept myself safe. My job has taken me all over the country and world and I’ve been comfortable and successful no matter where I’ve landed.
From the streets of Manhattan to the backwoods of North Carolina, I’m a proven adapter. I might not know everything right off the bat (wisdom), but I have the ability to figure it out (intelligence) and the aptitude to apply what I know (street smarts). Sometimes you need all three.